LIKE most Sun readers, I will never forget the summer of 1996. The whole country was buzzing because of the Euros.
As a teenager, I soaked up almost every second of the tournament, convinced that it would be England’s moment of glory.
It gave me a love of the game — its highs and lows — that I still have to this day, especially as a long-suffering Southampton fan.
As a country, our passion for football is unparalleled. It is known the world over.
From the Premier League to Sunday league, the game brings us together.
Our stadia aren’t just sporting venues where the best players in the world want to play and fans everywhere dream of visiting, they are part of who we are — cultural icons at the heart of our communities, monuments to the game we love.
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Again and again in recent years, those stadia have hosted some of the biggest games in world football.
We have hosted Champions League finals, Euro 2020 matches — including almost all of England’s epic run to the final — and the record-breaking 2022 Women’s Euros.
We have got world-class sporting infrastructure and a brilliant track record.
So it would be fantastic to bring a full, international men’s tournament back to these shores.
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That’s why today the UK and Ireland are launching a historic joint bid to host the Uefa European Championships in 2028.
By bringing the whole of the UK together, along with Ireland, we will showcase our shared love of the beautiful game.
It will be the most ambitious sporting event our islands have jointly staged — five Football Associations with Uefa united in delivering one of the best tournaments Europe has ever seen.
The captains of each of the host nations — Harry Kane, Séamus Coleman, Steven Davis, Andy Robertson and Aaron Ramsey — may be rivals on the pitch, but they are all on the same side in cheering on this effort.
Imagine it — the best teams in Europe battling it out at the Etihad in Manchester, Hampden Park in Glasgow, the Principality in Cardiff, Casement Park in Belfast, the Aviva in Dublin, and of course, Wembley Stadium.
Not to mention Villa Park, St James’ Park, Everton’s new Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
And imagine, just for a second, our boys following in the Lionesses’ footsteps and lifting that trophy five years from now. What a summer that would be.
All about the future
This year marks the 160th anniversary of the laws of the game — 160 years since they were first adopted and published, here in the UK.
We are rightly proud of that unique legacy. There is so much to celebrate and savour — from Jackie Milburn to Jack Charlton, from 1966 to Euro ’96.
But this tournament will be all about the future.
On a rainy day last month we held a kickabout at No 10 with the Lionesses. As Beth Mead, Jill Scott and Ellen White showed a group of excited school kids their skills and rattled some of the historic furnishings, you could see the inspirational impact of their Euro triumph last summer.
So Euro 2028 is about inspiring even more boys and girls not just to cheer on their team but to lace up their boots and get out there themselves.
It’s about supporting the game at the local level and lifting up our communities — together the bid partners have already committed more than £500million to improve grassroots football.
It’s about delivering new investment to upgrade facilities — including the regeneration of Casement Park in Northern Ireland.
It’s about harnessing the power of the tournament to drive long-term benefits through volunteering, tourism and new business opportunities.
It’s about pubs, front rooms and fan parks filling up across these islands — friends and family coming together, in victory or defeat.
We estimate the bid could generate benefits of up to £2.6billion for our nations.
It’s the ultimate win-win — a festival of football to cheer the nation and benefit us all.
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Let’s bring people from across Europe and beyond to our host cities, to see the best football on the best stage anyone can offer.
Let’s create new memories for a new generation. Let’s back our bid.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
